In the wake of the massive successes of both “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” ($1.3 billion) and “The Super Mario Galaxy” ($832.7 million and still in theaters), Universal Pictures is looking to increase its output of animated films. The studio’s upcoming slate now has four more untitled Illumination films on the way.
Those official dates are said to include April 12, 2028, specifically for the next untitled Nintendo film, with two other “Illumination Event” movies set for June 29, 2029, and July 3, 2030. Another April 16, 2027 date is also mentioned in the latter’s grouping as well (keep in mind these dates can change or be scrapped entirely).
However, those last two animated Nintendo installments have certainly given audiences options to what could be next outside of the third “Super Mario” movie (something already teased by Jack Black at CinemaCon) or even a massive crossover like “Super Smash Bros.” (a fighting game that combines a heap of various Nintendo characters into a single game). While we don’t know for sure what those titles are going to be, Illumination has established both Donkey Kong (voiced by Seth Rogen) and Star Fox (voiced by Glen Powell) as potential spinoff films, given that those characters have been able to sustain their own franchises for decades.
Alongside “Super Mario 3” and “Smash Bros.,” another possible idea could be a Luigi (voiced by Charlie Day) spinoff, as Mario’s scaredy-cat brother has his own haunted house and ghost-busting game, “Luigi’s Mansion,” that could be an extremely fun project to pursue as he sucks up ghosts with his trusty vacuum cleaner (although, given the dates currently slated, a Halloween-themed project doesn’t seem all that likey).
A “Star Fox” movie could be a great way to do a space pilot project and sort of do essentially Universal’s own animated “Star Wars” film, ala “Rogue Squadron.” And we’ve long suspected that “Donkey Kong” getting his own spinoff movie is just a matter of time; there was once a CGI TV series.
Of course, that blossoming working relationship between Nintendo and Universal has grown, thanks in part to the theme parks incorporating the video game IP.
All that said, Illumination and Universal have been making a killing on the “Despicable Me” and “Minions” movies, BILLIONS at the box office, and we assume another project could be in the works beyond the upcoming “Minions & Monsters” (coming to theaters on July 1).
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